All Kindergartens in the Community Closed for the Summer — Is It Legal and What Should Parents Do

The simultaneous closure of all kindergartens in a community for the summer period due to repairs or lack of funds can create serious problems for families with children and violate the legally guaranteed right to preschool education. This issue is especially acute in rural areas, where alternative institutions are often absent, and parents are forced to work and cannot stay home with the child.

Educational Ombudsman Nadiya Leshchyk emphasized that local authorities must seek solutions that allow necessary repairs to be carried out while ensuring children's access to preschool education.

According to her, it is common to receive appeals from parents living in rural areas where all preschool institutions cease operation during the summer. In such situations, families are effectively left without the possibility to provide childcare while working.

Decisions to simultaneously suspend the operation of all preschool institutions due to repairs or budget savings do not take into account the needs of families and may violate children's rights to access preschool education.

The right to preschool education is guaranteed by law

Article 8 of the Law of Ukraine "On Preschool Education" guarantees every child's right to receive preschool education and the creation of conditions for its implementation, taking into account the individual needs of the child.

The law also provides the child's right to receive preschool education in the most accessible and nearest municipal educational institution to their place of residence.

According to part one of Article 10 of this law, ensuring the accessibility of preschool education is the responsibility of state authorities, local self-government bodies, founders of educational institutions, and other subjects of educational activity.

At the same time, the legislation does not provide for holidays for preschool institutions.

Why kindergartens are still closed in summer

However, there are objective reasons why communities are forced to temporarily change the operating mode of kindergartens.

In particular, the Sanitary Regulations for preschool institutions prohibit the operation of groups during major repairs and painting works.

Additionally, preschool institution employees have the right to an annual main leave lasting 56 calendar days.

Therefore, founders of educational institutions must make management decisions regarding the organization of kindergarten work during the summer period in such a way as to avoid violating the rights of children and parents.

What solutions can communities apply

As the educational ombudsman notes, various communities already use a number of mechanisms to ensure uninterrupted access of children to preschool education.

Among such solutions are:

• suspension of work of only part of the preschool institutions;
• organization of on-duty kindergartens;
• transfer of children from several institutions to one during repairs;
• group consolidation;
• staggered granting of leave to employees;
• engagement of temporary workers.

What to do in communities with only one kindergarten

A separate problem is communities where only one preschool institution operates. In such cases, there is also a need to carry out repair work and provide leave to employees.

Recommendations on ensuring children's right to preschool education under such conditions are published on the educational ombudsman's website.

Possible options include:

• transporting children to another preschool institution;
• creating another subject of educational activity or its subdivision.

Specifically, these forms of organization include:

• mini-kindergarten;
• pedagogical partnership center;
• child development center.

The recommendations also include requirements for premises for such institutions and explain the procedure for legalizing educational activities by submitting a declaration of business activity.

Accessibility of kindergartens affects parents' employment

Nadiya Leshchyk emphasized that numerous studies confirm the impact of preschool education accessibility not only on children's development but also on parents' employment opportunities and the overall economic situation.

This issue remains especially relevant during the full-scale war, when a significant number of men serve in the military, and childcare and family support often fall on one parent. Therefore, communities must create conditions under which parents can work confidently, knowing their children are properly supervised and have access to preschool education.

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